08/12/06 - 20/08/07
The overall objective of the Rural Development Project (RDP) was to improve the security and level of livelihoods of rural people in post-conflict Solomon Islands, through increased participation of rural communities in sustainable economic development, enhanced local governance and improved access to priority rural services and infrastructure, identified in a participatory manner.
Preparation of this project linking relief, rehabilitation and development, involved the following:
- provision of performance-based block grants to provincial governments for investments in rural infrastructure and services,
- strengthening services and infrastructure delivery in rural areas,
- development of village development mechanisms to meet community needs,
- building capacity of local-level public administration, civil society and private sector agricultural institutions in planning, financial management and service delivery;
The expected LRRD outcomes of the proposed project included:
01/12/06 - 01/01/09
The overall objective of the project is to support economic diversification and competitiveness by reinforcing the employment opportunities for the population adversely affected by the demise of the banana sector.
The specific objectives of the project are:
Key activities include:
The expected outcomes are:
01/11/06 - 01/09/07
“Global Assessment of the National Statistical System of the Republic of Belarus – Statistics 9”
The transition to market economy in Belarus during the 1990s led to strengthened Government requirements for statistics and to the necessity to reform the existing state statistics system. During this period two multi-annual national programmes on developing state statistics were implemented. Huge efforts are being made to introduce a modern statistical system, particularly since the EU enlargement in 2004 which has brought Belarus much closer to Europe.The general objective of this project is to have an official statistical system able to provide data meeting EU and international standards in Belarus.
Under the 1st component of this contract the strengths and weakness of the current system were assessed in relation to the EU Statistical System and the experts developed an action plan for filling the possible gaps. The assessment report was presented to the top management of Minstat, including recommendations and conclusions for the further development of the national statistical system and to set priorities for future EC technical assistance. This part of the project was carried out by a high level statistics expert with the assistance of a local statistician.
The 2nd component - through attending international seminars and conferences and participation in a study tour - gave Belarusian statistics specialists the chance to get acquainted with the methodology and the system of statistical indicators and standards and practices used in EU countries by EU countries. Participants improved their knowledge, raised awareness and were informed and subsequently capable to apply international standards to the statistical practice in Belarus.
01/11/06 - 01/12/06
“Strengthening of the implementation of the Paris Commitments in Ethiopia”
TDI Group implemented this project in Addis Ababa in January 2006.
Its overall objective was to contribute to the implementation of the internationally agreed harmonisation targets in a country context; ensure strengthened coordination and harmonisation of the EU aid programmes among each other, with the wider donor community and with the Government.
As a Secretariat to the EU Heads of Cooperation its specific objective is to ensure effective implementation of the EU’s harmonisation commitments (including joint programming and other objectives of the Road Map) and their full complementarities to other harmonisation initiatives (DAG, Joint Declaration, WB) in Ethiopia.
The mission resulted in establishing an effective and functional coordination and harmonisation mechanism for the EU and the EC-WB cooperation in Ethiopia with a view to ensuring the EU in Ethiopia makes substantive progress towards meeting the internationally agreed harmonisation, coordination and alignment targets.
01/10/06 - 01/01/07
Preparation Study for Agricultural Diversification Project Number 2 – Component A: Rural Infrastructure and Market Development
Full preparation study for Component A of ADP2 - The proposed ADP2 would be aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes and creating rural employment through promoting market-oriented diversification of agriculture in the central highland and coastal provinces of Vietnam.
Achieving this objective would contribute to increasing and stabilizing the incomes of smallholders in the central highland and coastal provinces, thereby leading to the growth of the rural economy and the reduction of rural poverty in the country’s central region.
The expected specific outcomes of the proposed project would be that:
29/09/06 - 31/12/06
Preparation of TOR for the regional TACIS project “Aktau Port Development, Masterplanning and Feasibility Study for the port of Aktau, Kazakhstan
The Government of Kazakhstan together with the EBRD had implemented a programme of development and reconstruction of the Aktau port in 1997-1999. The loan in the amount of USD 74 million was issued. The loan contributed to the modernization, renewal of infrastructure and improvement of the management of the Port of Aktau. A further loan is presently negotiated between EBRD and the Government of Kazakhstan. The Master Planning and Feasibility Study will identify priorities and pave the way for further port developments and investments.
This project was in line with the objectives of the Tacis - TRACECA interstate programme, namely:
pertaining to the development and improvement of trade within the Region
Furthermore, it was consistent with the Tacis Indicative Programme 2005 – 2006 for Central Asia priorities namely:
Pan European Transport Corridors and areas,
and cargo transit in the regions.
The specific objective of the project was to draw up Terms of Reference (including logframe matrix and draft budget breakdown) for the Tacis regional project “Aktau Port Development, Masterplanning and Feasibility Study for the Port of Aktau, Kazakhstan”.
01/09/06 - 08/01/09
Landell Mills was contracted to undertake the Grenada Business Gateway Project. The overall objective of the project was to support economic diversification and competitiveness, e.g. through SME development, and reinforce the employment opportunities for the population adversely affected by the demise of the banana sector.
This programme of support translated into a strengthened Business Gateway at the Grenada Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), upgraded SMEs, a thorough review of the legislative and regulatory framework for businesses and recommendations on improving the enabling environment for the Grenadian private sector.
The project also comprised an IT component to create a web portal and established an enterprise tracking system, a shared Experts Database, shared export promotion database and a trade development database.
Training in entrepreneurship principles, together with training for the manager and business counselors, accreditation of the business advisers, and study tours to regional and international institutions were also scheduled.
01/09/06 - 01/12/06
Support Project to the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) - Industrial Zone and Technology Park Pilot Scheme
The Industrial Zone and Technology Park Pilot Scheme was intended to improve the availability of serviced land for manufacturing and distribution ventures as well as modern office space for regional headquarters and providers of international tradable services.
Activities include:
The Scheme also established a ‘Regional Property Development Fund’ (RPDF), including explicit cost-sharing and selection criteria. The RPDF consisted of a fund to assist owners and managers of industrial and technological parks to offer properly serviced land to potential investors. The Fund managed a cost sharing grants scheme (CSGS) for co-financing pre-investment studies and preparation of project documentation for on site infrastructure provision for selected industrial and/or technology parks.
01/09/06 - 01/10/06
“Verification of conformity with the legal texts by traditional suppliers of bananas within the ACP with reference to Article 164 of the financial regulations applicable to the general budget”
The overall objective of the mission as defined in the ToR was to allow the European Commission to maintain or modify its previous decision concerning the management of Community funds and the possibility of partial or full decentralized management by the authorities of beneficiary countries, by reference to Article 164 of the financial regulations applicable to the General Budget of the European Communities (Council Regulation EC/EURATOM No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002), provided specifically in the context of the Programme of Assistance to traditional banana suppliers in the following ACP countries: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The scope of the mission, as outlined under the specific objectives in the ToR, was to conduct an examination of the legal texts and financial management systems applied in the management of public finances by the beneficiary countries of the SFA, and to provide an assessment of the extent to which these respect the criteria and preconditions for decentralisation of the management of Community funds, as set out in articles 164 and 53(6) of the Financial Regulations applicable to the General Budget of the European Communities; namely:
A) Effective segregation of the duties of authorising officer and accounting officer.
B) Existence of an effective system for the internal control of management operations.
C) For project support, procedures for the presentation of separate accounts showing the use made of Community funds; and for other forms of support, an officially certified annual statement for the area of expenditure concerned to be made available to the Community.
D) Existence of a national institution for independent external auditing.
E) Transparent, non-discriminatory procurement procedures ruling out all conflicts of interest.
F) Respect of the provisions of Article 53(6) of the Financial Regulation which imposes the following on beneficiaries:
Appropriate measures to prevent irregularities and fraud and if necessary to bring prosecution to recover funds wrongly paid.
01/07/06 - 20/11/07
Landell Mills Ltd was awarded this PPTA contract to prepare the Commercial Agriculture Development Project in Afghanistan through a value chain analysis approach. This has now been renamed as the Agriculture Market Infrastructure Project.
The outcome was a full feasibility study and project design formulated to help develop more competitive and sustainable agri-business. The TA helped the Government of Afghanistan (working with the exeucting agency, MAIL) to design an investment project with activities all over the country, focusing on:
The Project designed sought to create a flexible support service delivery mechanism driven by market demand. The Project concentrated on horticulture and horti-business, and also supported interventions to improve the livestock and dairy institutional framework.